US$65M boost for Barbados Four Seasons project

(Barbados Nation) The stalled Four Seasons hotel project seems set to get a new financial lease on life and it is to come from the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington.

After weeks of negotiations, the IDB, the Western Hemisphere’s leading development financing institution, has reportedly reached an agreement with Barbados for the loan of at least US$65 million to investors in the project, according to highly placed sources in Washington and Barbados.

“It’s going to be the kind of loan that wouldn’t require a Barbados Government guarantee and therefore wouldn’t appear on the country’s books as a foreign debt,” said a source familiar with the plans but who wasn’t authorized to speak on behalf of the Barbados Government.

“The bank, which is yet to seek formal approval of its executive board to go ahead with the loan, is committed to the deal because it feels the project is worthwhile and it has fallen victim to the international financial crisis.”